Handheld Gps Bluetooth Question

[dapostol]

I am wondering if there is a way to connect via bluetooth a handheld GPS receiver (ie A Garmin Etrex Vista or a Magellan Explorist 500) with a PDA (Pocket PC) so you can use Autorouting Programs like destinator3 on the PDA.

[kerecsen]

You can get bluetooth adapters in various formats, such as a battery pack or car charger.

 

However, considering the price, a real bluetooth GPS is probably a much more convenient alternative.

 

If you want it for car use and have a handheld for out-of-car use, you can get a receiver without auto-off (such as the Holux 236 with SiRF III), take the battery out and plant it in your glovebox with the charger connected all the time. It will just come on when you turn the ignition without any additional hassle.

 

You may also be able to get a serial cable that goes between your GPS and your PDA, but it won't be particularly cheap either...

[+weakfish]

One very important point to consider...

If you rely on your PDA for daily business use, taking it caching could be a BAD IDEA.

 

I have a LifeDrive that I totally depend on for work. I run cachemate on it to go quasi paperless. I use it for tracking logs/hints.. but I leave it in the truck and take my Legend C with me for the final hunt. I thought about a BT GPSr to go with it, but I cannot afford the expense or down time of losing the PDA.

 

Carefully consider what you need your palm for on a routine basis before taking it in the field.

 

If you rely on it daily, you might be better served with a dedicated GPSr.

[dapostol]

What I actually intend to do is use the GPSr/PDA combination in car and the GPSr out of the car, hiking or sailing with maps I upload in the GPSr. If someone has tried it and can recommend a working combination it would be appreciated.

[+naviguesser74]

I am using a Palm with TomTom's BT GPSr and Navigator software. Incredible - with John Clease telling you when to turn. I put geocache locations in as POI's as follows:

 

http://homepage.mac.com/bruce.mckenzie/blo...0547/index.html

 

Then I use GeoNiche to manage the data and act as GPS software. Seems to work great. Just waiting for the weather to get better.

[+I.R. Geonut]

Man I'm jealous. I haven't found a decent GPS system for my iPAQ. Navman is the coolest setup for my PDA because it comes with car mount, charger, and GPSr but it doesn't fit my rx3715.

 

Anyone else use this PDA as a GPS?

[kerecsen]

What I actually intend to do is use the GPSr/PDA combination in car and the GPSr out of the car, hiking or sailing with maps I upload in the GPSr. If someone has tried it and can recommend a working combination it would be appreciated.

One more aspect I forgot to mention: if you want to use your handheld gps in the car together with the PDA, you will need two mounts (one for the PDA where you can see it, and one for the handheld close to the window -- otherwise it will fly away in corners).

The bluetooth GPSes can usually be just plopped on the dashboard because they are light and sticky enough to stay there without help (if your dashboard is curved, you can always tuck the GPS between the dashboard and the windshield).

 

If you get a 60cx/csx, you may be able to get away with just putting it in the glove box.

 

Oh, and prepare to pay twice for the maps, one for the PDA and one for the handheld (unless you get a garmin GPS10, which I wouldn't much recommend otherwise).

[+Alan2]

Man I'm jealous. I haven't found a decent GPS system for my iPAQ. Navman is the coolest setup for my PDA because it comes with car mount, charger, and GPSr but it doesn't fit my rx3715.

 

Anyone else use this PDA as a GPS?

Check Semsons.com They have CF and SD GPS's with the latest SIRF III GPS chipset. Also, I use Mapopolis for autonavigating as I can overlay all the cache icons onto their street m,aps using gpxtomaplet.